Devices for automatically dispensing a measured mount of feed on a timed schedule are needed to feed farm or ranch animals in many situations, such as when those normally involved in feeding activities are not available for extended periods of time or when it is desired to tend to animals in remote locations automatically. In the case of farm animals it is desirable to dispense feed at regular intervals, and, in between these intervals, to hold or store the feed in such a manner as to prevent the feed from being eaten by wild creatures. In particular and specifically in relation to the present invention, it should be noted that a feeder for hay flakes is desirable. Hay flakes are small bales of hay formed into a rectangular shape. These flakes provide an amount of feed necessary for sustaining cattle and horses during one feeding period. The need for timed or regulated feed devices is repeatedly demonstrated by the many devices that have appeared on the market or are described in the literature and other publications.
Several prior art devices that are most pertinent to the present invention have been built to provide pre-measured amounts of food to animals automatically on a timed schedule. One such device, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,658,036 to Caracappa, has multiple compartments arranged radially about a vertical axis, each compartment having its own trap door on hinges. This device also has a holding finger for each compartment to hold the trap door closed until a rotating disc is aligned so as to release the finger and permit the door to drop and release the food from that compartment. This device has obviously been designed to feed a household pet or other small animal. It is not large enough nor rugged enough for use in the feeding of large ranch or farm animals. Its design does not scale up efficiently to a size necessary for adequately feeding such animals because the circular cannister for storing and dispensing the feed and the circular feeding dish beneath it would have to be built too large, and the disc that keeps the trap doors closed would have to be built too sturdy, to be economical. In addition, the hinged trap doors and holding fingers for all of the compartments comprise many moving parts, thus making the device overly complicated, expensive to manufacture, and subject to mechanical failure and excessive need of maintenance.
Another device which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,221 to Arvizu shows a hopper where granulated food is stored in bulk form and from which it is gravity fed through a rotating food dispenser which is sized to measure the desired amount of food. While this invention has fewer moving pans than the preceding one, it would not be suitable for dispensing hay flakes because the hay flakes are too large to be properly measured and fed through the rotating food dispenser.
A third device for automatically feeding animals is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,981,106 to Nagatomo. This is a battery-powered device that can dispense measured quantities of grain or other finely divided dry feed material on a set schedule. However it is basically only useful for small domestic pets such as fish or birds. The design would not economically scale up to a size needed to feed adequate portions to hay eating farm animals because the carousel, which contains all the feed and must be rotatably moved by the motor, would necessarily become a large and heavy structure.
A fourth device, which is being marketed for horse feeding, is the automatic carousel feeder. While this device is fairly simple and efficient for its intended purpose, its use is restricted to the feeding of a single horse because the amount of feed is adequate for only a single animal, and the feed is made available in a small area so that multiple animals would compete for the food and scuffle to obtain it. Its design does not allow for efficient scaling up for use by more than a single animal. Thus for multiple animals there would be no economy of size, and multiple feeders would be necessary.
Various other devices also exist for satisfying the feeding of specific animals such as hogs or fish. However, none of these satisfies the need for a means to automatically feed adequate measured quantities of hay to farm animals on a timed schedule. The hog feeding device requires feed in a mushy, semi-liquid state, and the fish feeding device is too small and fragile, and is designed to be attached to an aquarium. Clearly there is a need for a device that is designed to automatically dispense a measured amount of feed for farm or ranch animals such as horses and cattle on a selected schedule, and to have a large enough capacity for several days' worth of food. Such a device would be of a simple enough design that it would be relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture and it would not be subject to frequent breakdowns, jamming or excessive preventive maintenance. Such a device would be rugged enough to be used for the feeding of large, active animals that could damage a more fragile design. The device would be versatile enough to be capable of automatic feeding of from 1 to 4 days without the need to reload the apparatus. Such a device would also have the advantages of being easily loaded, easily set as to time schedule, not easily damaged or affected by rain or snow, i.e., just as applicable for outdoor as for indoor use, and would prevent wild animals from attacking the stored feed. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides related advantages. A previous patent application, Ser. No. 08/257,558 was filed by the present inventor on Jun. 9, 1994 showing and claiming a rotary design for a livestock hay feeder. However this apparatus is less space efficient then the present apparatus, especially when scaled upwards to larger sizes.